Written Answers Wednesday 9 August 2006

Scottish Executive

Cancer

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of skin cancer there have been in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is given in tables entitled – Number of registrations of skin cancer by Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (1999 – 2003) by age, gender and type copies of which have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 40138).

Cancer

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence is of breast cancer, broken down by NHS board or managed clinical network.

Mr Andy Kerr: Breast cancer incidence from 1980 – 2003 (the most recent year for which data is available) broken down by age, sex, regional cancer network and NHS board is available on the NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) Information Services Division (ISD) website at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/cancer_definition.jsp?pContentID=1421&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show& .

Cancer

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of breast cancer patients are tested for their HER-2 status at diagnosis, broken down by NHS board or managed clinical network.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information in respect of all breast cancer patients is not available centrally in the format requested. NHS boards confirm that arrangements have been or are being put in place to test all newly diagnosed breast cancer patients to confirm HER-2 status.

Cancer

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of breast cancers are HER-2 positive, broken down by NHS board or managed clinical network.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

Cancer

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of HER-2 positive patients are given Herceptin, broken down by NHS board or managed clinical network.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) published their guidance on 12 June advising that Herceptin is accepted for restricted use within NHSScotland for the treatment of patients with HER2 positive early breast cancer following surgery, chemotherapy (neoadjuvant or adjuvant) and radiotherapy (if applicable). NHS boards are expected to take account of SMC advice and ensure that recommended medicines are made available to meet clinical need.

Cancer

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the mortality rate is of patients with breast cancer, broken down by NHS board or managed clinical network.

Mr Andy Kerr: Breast cancer mortality rates from 1980 – 2004 (the most recent year for which data is available) broken down by age, sex, regional cancer network and NHS Board is available on the NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) Information Services Division (ISD) website at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/cancer_definition.jsp?pContentID=1421&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show& .

Cancer

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times are for patients with breast cancer, broken down by NHS board or managed clinical network.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the question S2W-25424, answered on 10 May 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The latest available information for the quarter October - December 2005 is available on http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health/cancer/waiting-times/Intro.

Cancer

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the capacity available to deliver intravenous therapies to cancer patients.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is a matter for NHS boards to plan services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations.

  Delivering for Health set out the programme of action for NHS Scotland in order to shift the balance of care and extend and enhance local health care services.

Children with Special Needs

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list adventure playgrounds and playgrounds particularly designed to provide safe play and professional support for children who need learning support, giving the amount of financial support each receives from public funds.

Robert Brown: This information is not held centrally. The primary responsibility for providing adventure playgrounds and playgrounds, including for children who need learning support, lies with local authorities. Details of spend on this area by each local authority are not collected centrally by the Scottish Executive.

  We are aware that some voluntary organisations, including Capability Scotland, hold information on leisure and play opportunities for children with disabilities.

Children with Special Needs

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is regarding the provision of adventure playgrounds or play facilities designed for pupils with additional learning needs.

Robert Brown: A number of strands of Scottish Executive policy recognise the importance of play and access to play facilities and other services for children with additional support needs. The primary responsibility for assessing what individual services and facilities are needed at the local level lies with local authorities, who should ideally work with local families and voluntary organisations in assessing need.

  The Scottish Executive provides resources to local authorities through a number of funding streams including Quality of Life and Community Regeneration that can be used to support outdoor play facilities for children, including those with additional support needs. In addition, almost £273m of grant aided expenditure (GAE) provision is made available to local authorities for additional support needs services and £44m GAE for the childcare strategy, the scope of which includes provision of outdoor play facilities.

  In line with Scottish Executive policy directions, the Big Lottery Fund has named play as one of its priorities in Scotland for the period 2006-2009. This is a significant source of funding for projects which support and promote play.

  Through the Unified Voluntary Sector Fund, the Executive is providing funding to The Yard, an adventure centre in Edinburgh, catering primarily for children with a range of additional support needs. The Yard also promotes and develops inclusive play for children throughout Scotland by working with teachers, parents and community groups to transfer skills and good practice.

Corporate Homicide

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings have taken place between Scottish ministers and UK ministers to discuss the Corporate Homicide Expert Group report; what the dates were of the meetings; whether a note was taken of each meeting and, if so, whether it will be made available to the Parliament.

Cathy Jamieson: There have been no meetings arranged between Scottish Ministers and UK Ministers specifically to discuss the Corporate Homicide Expert Group Report.

  Ministers have discussed various issues relating to corporate homicide in the context of the UK Government’s draft Bill.

Drug Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what quantity of illegal drugs it estimates are brought into Scotland annually (a) via Scottish ports, (b) via Scottish airports and (c) across the border by car or train.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information.

Forestry

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of illegal tree felling Forest Enterprise has passed to procurators fiscal in the last five years, broken down by forestry district and year.

Rhona Brankin: The number of cases of alleged illegal tree felling which Forestry Commission Scotland have passed to the Procurator Fiscal over the past five years is shown in the following table.

  

 FORESTRY COMMISSON SCOTLAND CONSERVANCY


 Year ended
 Highland
 Grampian
 Perth & Argyll
 Central
 South Scotland


 31 Mar 2002
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -


 31 Mar 2003
 -
 2
 1
 -
 1


 31 Mar 2004
 -
 -
 2
 2
 2


 31 Mar 2005
 -
 -
 2
 1
 -


 31 Mar 2006
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -

Forestry

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of illegal tree felling have been prosecuted by procurators fiscal in the last five years, broken down by forestry district, year and sentence imposed.

Rhona Brankin: The number of cases of illegal tree felling which were prosecuted over the past five years is shown in the following table.

  

 FORESTRY COMMISSION SCOTLAND CONSERVANCY


 Year ended
 Highland
 Grampian
 Perth & Argyll
 Central
 South Scotland


 31 Mar 2002
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 31 Mar 2003
 -
 -
1 (a)
 -
 -


 31 Mar 2004
 -
 -
1 (b)
 -
1 (c)


 31 Mar 2005
 -
 -
 -
2 (d)(e)
 -


 31 Mar 2006
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -



  Outcomes

  (a) Restocking notice issued

  (b) Restocking notice issued

  (c) Restocking notice issued

  (d) £1,500 fine

  (e) £50 fine

Fuel

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of research by the Energy Institute indicating that the number of petrol stations in Scotland has almost halved since 1990 from 1,723 to 970, resulting in job losses and causing congestion as drivers travel further to fill up, and what action the Executive will take to address the issue.

Tavish Scott: We are aware of the research quoted in The Scotsman on 13 May. The Energy Institute’s figures are, however, at variance with the latest data produced by the Office for National Statistics, which show that the number of petrol stations operating across Scotland fell from about 880 in November 1999 to approximately 700 in November 2004.

  Since 1998-99, the Scottish Executive’s Rural Transport Fund has spent £57.7m to improve transport services in rural areas. In addition to providing grants to rural petrol stations to help with the capital costs of fuel supply infrastructure, the Fund is also helping to reduce people’s need for private transport by funding new and improved public and community transport services in rural areas.

  Urban areas which have a higher concentration of petrol stations also benefit from a wider and more frequent range of bus and rail services which reduce the need to rely on private transport.

Fuel

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors the number of petrol outlets in rural areas; whether it has made any assessment of the impact of falling numbers on local communities, and whether it has given any consideration as to how this issue could be addressed.

Tavish Scott: We support the retention of a sustainable and accessible network of fuel supply throughout rural Scotland through the Executive’s Rural Petrol Stations Grants Scheme, which provides assistance towards essential capital expenditure on fuel supply infrastructure and involves regular assessments of local petrol retail services across Scotland.

Fuel

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Rural Petrol Stations Grant Scheme is succeeding in its aim of supporting the retention of a sustainable and accessible network of fuel supply throughout rural Scotland and whether its budget of £400,000 for 2005-06 is adequate for this task.

Tavish Scott: Independent research in 2004 found that the Rural Petrol Stations Grants Scheme was a successful scheme that had provided substantial social, economic and environmental benefits to many rural communities in Scotland. The research also found that the scheme was responsible for almost all rural LPG provision in Scotland.

  Although the 2005-06 budget for the scheme was £400,000, actual spend amounted to almost £483,000, with the excess being funded from underspends elsewhere in the Transport budget. The 2006-07 budget has been increased from the proposed £600,000 to £1 million to cope with the current high demand for the scheme.

General Practitioners

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GPs have (a) retired and (b) started practice in each year since 1995.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Health Statistics

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish patients have made use of the E112 form to seek treatment abroad in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held by the Executive. The E112 system is administered by the Department of Health for the whole of the UK. I have had enquiries made as to whether it is possible to obtain country-specific information and will write to the Member.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths were linked to MRSA in 2005.

Mr Andy Kerr: MRSA was recorded on Scottish death certificates as likely to be "the underlying cause of death" in 38 cases in 2005. In a further 174 death certificates, MRSA was mentioned as a contributing factor.

  These data should be treated with great caution. Detailed information on healthcare associated infections (HAIs) as a cause of death from specific infections can be difficult or impossible to interpret safely. As at the end of 2005, there was no international code in use for recording MRSA as a cause of death and the MRSA data above were obtained by analysing the original written text recorded on the death certificate by certifying doctors.

  Recording of specific HAIs as a cause of death is often influenced by the general level of professional and public awareness of that HAI at the time and may reflect an increase in awareness, rather than a real change in the actual number of deaths in which the HAI was an underlying or contributory factor. It is also important to note that these figures are not set in the context of the total number of patients treated in the NHS. Reports from national surveillance of serious MRSA infections in Scotland provide evidence that MRSA rates have remained stable in recent years.

NHS Complaints

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints were made against doctors in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

NHS Finance

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the year-end financial position was for each NHS (a) hospital and (b) board in each of the last five financial years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The year-end financial position for each NHS board in each of the last five financial years was as follows:

  

Under/(Over)spend Against Revenue Resource Limit
2001-02
£000
2002-03
£000
2003-04
£000
2004-05
£000
2005-06
£000


 Argyll & Clyde
 -3,538
 582
 -35,370
 -59,492
 569


 Ayrshire & Arran
 806
 5,636
 13,549
 22,901
 17,405


 Borders
 -96
 326
 299
 3,380
 3,314


 Dumfries & Galloway
 60
 2,311
 5,491
 9,455
 14,223


 Fife
 17
 2,978
 2,366
 5,400
 4,582


 Forth Valley
 -88
 1
 392
 410
 407


 Grampian
 -2,006
 370
 -4,804
 -10,774
 456


 Greater Glasgow
 503
 12,135
 5,010
 12,103
 12,284


 Highland
 546
 442
 2,522
 1,838
 1,369


 Lanarkshire
 -4,890
 -7,342
 -21,208
 -20,042
 -8,393


 Lothian
 -10,033
 8,384
 13,207
 19,566
 179


 Orkney
 -227
 -
 34
 60
 50


 Shetland
 -425
 274
 339
 24
 341


 Tayside
 -4,510
 4,330
 4,298
 4,460
 1,141


 Western Isles
 -565
 201
 -271
 -738
 -2,484


 Common Services Agency
 2,442
 1,350
 4,410
 3,871
 5,077


 National Waiting Times Centre
 
 40
 1,985
 1,601
 3,991


 Health Scotland 
 -19
 35
 35
 447
 127


 Mental Welfare Commission
 42
 46
 -2
 1,263
 60


 NHS Education
 194
 -948
 2,585
 7,732
 10,960


 NHS 24
 8
 -956
 1,183
 4,988
 809


 Quality Improvement Scotland
 -156
 522
 567
 513
 268


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 851
 5
 22
 50
 1


 State Hospital
 -
 131
 1,948
 1,994
 2,860



  It is not possible to calculate the financial position of each hospital because the allocation and management of funds to hospitals is managed at a board level.

  The National Waiting Times Centre was created in 2002-03. Health Scotland was formed from Health Education Board in 2002-03. NHS Education was formed from Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE) and National Board for Nursing and Midwivery. Only the results for SCPMDE are shown in 2001-02. Quality Improvement Scotland was formed form Health Technology Board and Clinical Standards Board in 2002-03, their combined results are shown for 2001-02.

NHS Hospitals

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) admissions to hospitals to treat alcoholic liver disease and (b) liver disease deaths there were in each year since 1996.

Lewis Macdonald: Tables providing this information are available in, the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

  Table 1 (Bib number 40166) shows the number of discharges from hospitals with an explicit diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease each year from 1996.

  Table 2 (Bib number 40167) shows the number of deaths from liver disease each year since 1996.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of suspension payments for medical staff was in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The latest information provided by Health Boards in response to the above question on the cost of medical suspensions in each year since 1999 is in the following table.

  

 
£


 1999
 58,823


 2000
 25,000


 2001
 -


 2002
 4,065


 2003
 87,772


 2004
 162,981


 2005
 180,164


 2006
 154,044

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses have been employed by NHS 24 in each year since its inception.

Mr Andy Kerr: As NHS 24 implemented its phased rollout across Scotland, recruitment was also phased and began in the Grampian area, to staff the Aberdeen Contact Centre in advance of its launch on 8 May 2002.

  At that stage, NHS 24 employed 23 frontline nurses (headcount) and now, between its three main contact centres and the five smaller satellite centres, there are 491 nurses (headcount) which equates to 294.0 whole time equivalent.

  Details of the number of nurses (whole time equivalent and headcount) providing frontline NHS 24 services for each year since 2002 are listed in the following table:

  

 2002
 2003
 2004


 Wte
 Headcount
 Wte
 Headcount
 Wte
 Headcount


 119.2
 199**
 289.6
 374
 301.2
 417



  

 2005
 2006


 Wte
 Headcount
 Wte
 Headcount


 291.7
 477
 294.0
 491



  * Figures provided by NHS 24, as at 30 June each year. The numbers are taken from NHS 24’s monthly management information report and refer to frontline nurses – they do not include Team Leaders, Clinical Service Managers or Practice Educators/Facilitators who are non-frontline or nurses who are employed in a management post.

  ** The 2002 headcount figure is an average figure for June 2002, based on whole time equivalent numbers.

NHS Waiting Lists

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many in-patient and day cases are on hospital waiting lists, also expressed as a rate per 100,000 of the population, and how the (a) median and (b) average wait in days compared with the equivalent figures for England in each of the last 16 quarters.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the number of patients on the in-patient and day case waiting list and the waiting list as a rate per 100,000 of the population, for the last 16 quarters, is provided in table 1.

  The majority of patients who require in-patient and day case treatment are treated quickly. Nearly 53% of the patients treated in NHSScotland hospitals receive immediate treatment and never join a waiting list. Of those who do wait, over 40% are admitted within 1 months and over 70% within 3 months.

  The distribution of waiting times for in-patient discharges is highly positively skewed. The arithmetic mean is an inappropriate statistical measure for such distributions because a very small number of long waiting times can have a disproportionate effect on the mean waiting time.

  The median and mean are not targets for NHSScotland; they are only summary measures for patients who waited for treatment. Reducing maximum waiting times is the Scottish Executive’s priority for NHSScotland. The current national maximum waiting time for in-patient and day case treatment is 6 months. This will be reduced to 18 weeks by the end of 2007.

  NHSScotland is delivering on the 6 month national maximum waiting time and is making good progress towards meeting the next key target of a maximum wait of 18 weeks by the end of 2007. At that point, a new approach to defining and measuring waiting will also be introduced to replace availability status codes (ASCs), which have the effect at present of excluding patients from waiting times guarantees where for example, they are medically unfit for treatment, where they have asked for their treatment to be postponed, or where their treatment is highly specialised or of low clinical priority. The new approach will be fairer, more consistent and more transparent.

  Median and mean waiting times are derived from retrospective analyses of waiting times for hospital treatment. These are compiled from SMR01 returns and are based on data that does not record whether patients have had an ASC applied. The information requested on median and mean waiting times is provided in table 2. It includes the waiting times of patients who have been exempted from waiting times guarantees for the reasons given above and therefore overstates true waiting times. It is not possible to estimate the extent of the overstatement.

  Waiting list and waiting times information for England are not directly comparable with Scottish data due to definitional differences in the collection systems. Information on waiting lists and waiting times for England is available at: http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/waiting times/index.htm.

  Table 1

  NHSScotland: Number Of Scottish Residents On The In-patient And Day Case Waiting List And The Rate Per 100,000 Of Population On Each Quarterly Census Date From 30 June 2002 To 31 March 2006.

  

 Census Date
 Number of Inpatient and Day Case Waiting List
 Waiting List Per 100,000 of Population


 30 June 2002
 105,077
 2,079


 30 September 2002
 107,181
 2,120


 31 December 2002
 108,661
 2,150


 31 March 2003
 107,338
 2,122


 30 June 2003
 111,986
 2,214


 30 September 2003
 110,485 
 2,185


 31 December 2003
 111,861
 2,212


 31 March 2004
 110,089
 2,168


 30 June 2004
 112,183
 2,209


 30 September 2004
 112,353
 2,212


 31 December 2004
 113,870
 2,242


 31 March 2005
 112,481
 2,208


 30 June 2005
 111,878
 2,196


 30 September 2005
 109,823
 2,156


 31 December 2005
 108,371
 2,127


 31 March 2006
 106,306
 2,087



  Source ISD SMR3, General Register Office for Scotland

  Table 2

  NHScotland: Median And Mean Waiting Times2 For In-patient And Day Cases Admitted From The Waiting List For Each Quarter From 30 June 2002 To 31 March 2006p

  

 Quarter Ending
Median Wait1(Days)
Mean Wait1(Days)


 30 June 20022
 34
 71


 30 September 20022
 36
 76


 31 December 20022
 36
 77


 31 March 20032
 40
 81


 30 June 2003
 39
 79


 30 September 2003
 41
 82


 31 December 2003
 40
 84


 31 March 2004
 43
 83


 30 June 2004
 42
 79


 30 September 2004
 43
 81


 31 December 2004
 42
 82


 31 March 2005
 48
 85


 30 June 2005
 43
 78


 30 September 2005
 42
 76


 31 December 2005
 44
 77


 31 March 2006p
 49
 78



  P Provisional

  Source ISD SMR01

  1 Includes patients with an Availability Status Code. Consequently, true waiting times are likely to be overstated because of periods of unavailability.

  2 Includes information on patients admitted from the deferred waiting list until its abolition on 01 April 2003.

NHS Waiting Lists

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many out-patients are on hospital waiting lists, also expressed as a rate per 100,000 of the population, and how the (a) median and (b) average waiting times in days compared with the equivalent figures for England in each of the last 16 quarters.

Mr Andy Kerr: Census information on the number of patients waiting for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by a general medical/dental practitioner, has only been collected centrally since 30 September 2004. Information on the number of patients on the out-patient waiting list, and the waiting list as a rate per 100,000 of population, for each census date since 30 September 2004, is provided in table 1.

  Waiting times distributions for out-patient attendances are highly positively skewed. Consequently, the arithmetic mean is an inappropriate measure of waiting times because a very small number of long waiting times can have a disproportionate effect on the mean waiting time.

  The median and mean are not targets for NHSScotland; they are only summary measures for patients who waited to be seen. Reducing maximum waiting times is the Scottish Executive’s priority for NHSScotland. The current national maximum waiting time for a first out-patient appointment following a general medical/dental practitioner referral is 26 weeks. This will be reduced to 18 weeks by the end of 2007.

  NHSScotland is delivering on the 26 week national maximum waiting times and is making good progress towards meeting the next key target of a maximum wait of 18 weeks by the end of 2007. At that point, a new approach to defining and measuring waiting will also be introduced to replace availability status codes (ASCs), which have the effect at present of excluding patients from waiting times targets where for example, where they have declined a reasonable appointment offer. The new approach will be fairer, more consistent and more transparent.

  The information requested on median and mean waiting times is provided in table 2. Waiting list and waiting times information for England are not directly comparable with Scottish data due to definitional difference in the collection systems. Information on waiting lists and waiting times for England is available at: http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/waiting times/index.htm

  Table 1

  NHSScotland: Number Of Patients On The Waiting List For A First Out-patient Appointment, Following A General Medical/Dental Practitioner Referral, And The Rate Per 100,000 Of Population On Each Quarterly Census Date From 30 September 2004 To 31 March 2006.

  

 Census Date
 Number of Outpatient Waiting List
 Waiting List Per 100,000 of Population


 30 September 2004
 250,394
 4,931


 31 December 2004
 231,105
 4,551


 31 March 2005
 202,391
 3,973


 30 June 2005
 209,226
 4,107


 30 September 2005
 209,514
 4,112


 31 December 2005
 178,109
 3,496


 31 March 2006
 177,973
 3,493



  Source ISD Outpatient Waiting List, General Register Office for Scotland

  Table 2

  NHScotland: Median And Mean Waiting Times1 For A First Out-patient Appointment, Following A General Medical/Dental Practitioner Referral, For Each Quarter From 30 June 2002 To 31 March 2006p

  

 Quarter Ending
Median Wait1(Days)
Mean Wait1(Days)


 30 June 2002
 56
 86


 30 September 2002
 60
 89


 31 December 2002
 59
 92


 31 March 2003
 58
 93


 30 June 2003
 53
 86


 30 September 2003
 55
 88


 31 December 2003
 54
 88


 31 March 2004
 55
 91


 30 June 2004
 51
 85


 30 September 2004
 55
 90


 31 December 2004
 56
 97


 31 March 2005
 62
 105


 30 June 2005
 52
 85


 30 September 2005
 54
 81


 31 December 2005
 57
 85


 31 March 2006p
 50
 70



  Source ISD SMR00

  p Provisional

  1 Excludes patients with an Availability Status Code eg where the patient has refused a reasonable offer of an appointment.

NHS Waiting Lists

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) median and (b) NHS average waiting times are for diagnostic tests, including scans, internal examinations and hearing tests.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.

NHS Waiting Lists

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients are waiting for diagnostic tests, broken down by the number of weeks they have to wait.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.

  ISD Scotland is working closely with the Executive and NHSScotland on the development and implementation of a data collection system for waiting times for key diagnostic tests and procedures. Central data collection is scheduled to begin in the Autumn, and it is expected that provisional information will be available early next year.

  In June last year, I announced a maximum 9-weeks waiting time for 8 key diagnostic tests. This commitment will come into effect from the end of 2007. Meantime, NHS Boards are working to reduce diagnostic waiting times for patients through service redesign, investment in capacity and more efficient working to ensure that the target is met.

NHS Waiting Lists

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) median and (b) average waiting times are for genetic tests for women with a family history of breast cancer in each NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the questions S2W-26943 and S2W-27105, both answered on 24 July 2006. All answers to written PQs are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

NHS Waiting Lists

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of cancer patients wait longer than four weeks for radiotherapy.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Radiotherapy Advisory Group is seeking to develop a core data set to capture quality assurance information to support the continuous improvement of radiotherapy services.

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings ministers or their officials have held since May 2006 with officials from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) at which the SCRA’s annual report for 2005-06 was discussed.

Robert Brown: Scottish Executive officials have held one meeting with the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) since May 2006 at which SCRA’s Annual Report 2005-06 was discussed.

  Separately I have established a "task group" with representatives of SCRA, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and the Association of Directors of Social Work. In respect of cases which otherwise might generate a referral to the reporter on non offence grounds, the role of the group is to consider what appropriate alternatives might be available for the Police Service to adopt. Since May 2006 the group has met twice.

Sexual Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were diagnosed with chlamydia in each year since 1995.

Mr Andy Kerr: The requested information is detailed within Volume 40 of Health Protection Scotland’s Weekly Report . The Report can be found at: www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh .

Traffic

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any assessment of the impact of increased freight traffic on Scottish roads as a result of any reduction in the use of the Channel Tunnel for rail freight after 1 December 2006.

Tavish Scott: No.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Non-Domestic rates

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Independent): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will publish the amount of non-domestic rates paid by the Parliament for all buildings it used in each financial year since establishment.

Nora Radcliffe (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): : The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body publishes the amount paid by the Parliament for non-domestic rates for each financial year in its annual resource accounts. The figures for each year since establishment are :-

  

 1999 – 2000
£405k


 2000 - 01
£425k


 2001 – 02
£432k


 2002 - 03
£448k


 2003 - 04
£366k


 2004 - 05
£2,033k





  

  The accounts for 2005 – 06 will be laid before Parliament in December 2006 and, subject to audit, will contain an amount of £3,430k in respect of non-domestic rates.